Grace
The W. R. Grace Company was founded by, yes, a man named W. R. Grace. He was Irish and it was a shipping enterprise he brought to New York in 1865. Energetic and ambitious, while his company grew on one side, he was getting civically involved on the other. Fifteen years after arriving, he was elected Mayor of New York City. Five years after that, he personally accepted a gift from a delegation representing the people of France. It was the Statue of Liberty.
The W. R. Grace Company was founded by, yes, a man named W. R. Grace. He was Irish and it was a shipping enterprise he brought to New York in 1865. Energetic and ambitious, while his company grew on one side, he was getting civically involved on the other. Fifteen years after arriving, he was elected Mayor of New York City. Five years after that, he personally accepted a gift from a delegation representing the people of France. It was the Statue of Liberty.
In 1945, grandson J. Peter Grace took control of the now worldwide shipping company. A decade later, it became a publicly traded corporation on the New York Stock Exchange. The business began shifting from shipping to chemical production.
By the 1980s, W. R. Grace had become a chemical and materials company, and it had come to light that one of its plants had been pouring toxins into the soil and water underneath the small town of Woburn, Massachusetts. The poisons worked their way into the town’s water supply and then into the townspeople. It caused leukemia in newborns. Lawsuits in civil court, and later investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency, cost the corporation millions. J. Peter Grace retired as CEO in 1992. After forty-eight years on the job, he’d become the longest-reigning CEO in the history of public companies. During that time, he also served as president of the Grace Institute.
The nonfiction novel A Civil Action came out in 1996. The best-selling, award[1]winning chronicle of the Woburn disaster soon became a Hollywood movie. The movie, starring John Travolta, continues to appear on television with some regularity. To honor the Grace Institute, October 28 was designated “Grace Day” by New York City in 2009. On that day, the institute defined its mission this way: “In the tradition of its founding family, Grace Institute is dedicated to the development of the personal and business skills necessary for self-sufficiency, employability, and an improved quality of life.” “Our Mission,” Grace Institute, accessed June 1, 2011, http://www.graceinstitute.org/mission.asp.
QUESTIONS
- a. How are business leaders meant to organize the four responsibilities? Which ones take precedence over the others and why? (4 marks)
- Judging the man named W. R. Grace through the lens of CSR, how well did he respond to his obligations? Explain. (2.5 marks)
- Judging the company’s more recent activities in the 1980s through the lens of CSR, how well did it respond to its obligations? Explain. (2.5 marks)
- The W. R. Grace company has a long history. From the information provided, what are some of the steps the company has taken to become economically sustainable? What are some of the steps the W. R. Grace company has taken to promote social sustainability? Explain. (6 marks)
